While BMW (and by relation, Mini) have been pioneering in-car connectivity for the last few years, Hyundai is still playing catch-up. The Korean automaker’s focus has been squarely set on bringing world-beating products to market, but consumer demand for infotainment systems isn’t abating. So Hyundai is joining BMW and a range of technology companies to work on the next generation of in-car networking solutions.

Broadcom, NXP, Freescale and Harman have banded together to create the OPEN (One-Pair Ether-Net) Alliance special interest group and BMW and Hyundai are the first two automakers to sign on.

The group will be working towards ethernet-based automotive connectivity, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be running a CAT5 cable out your house and into car.

The SIG is backing Broadcom’s BroadR-Reach cable – specifically developed for automotive applications – that’s able to transmit up to 100 Mbps over a single, unshieled wire. This should reduce internal networking costs and also shave a few pounds from production vehicles in the process.